Future Gohan and Future Trunks Reunite in Dragon Ball Heroes Ultra God Mission Episode 8, and It's the Best Moment of the Episode

Demigra has arrived in Super Dragon Ball Heroes Ultra God Mission Episode 8, taking over as the lead antagonist of this multiversal, multi timeline tournament arc from the previous and current Supreme Kai of Time, Chronoa and Towa. Demigra has been a villain in Heroes for years, going back to his introduction in Xenoverse 1, and he is part of that recurring Mira and Towa style rotation of enemies the franchise keeps returning to. In this episode he taps into dark factor and transforms, with arms that look bigger and a body that looks disjointed but more threatening, though his hair does not get quite as long as Super Saiyan 3.

These Heroes episodes are short, ten minute promotionals built to sell a card game that most fans in the west have never played. I have played it in Japan and it is fine, not the best arcade game ever, but because most of us here do not have access to it, these episodes do not land with the same impact they might otherwise have. Even so, the storyline concepts in this arc have always been more interesting to me than a lot of what we have gotten in Dragon Ball Super, because they push the envelope and try things that feel creative and new.

Demigra Clashes With Super Saiyan Blue Goku

Demigra goes after Chronoa, and Super Saiyan Blue Goku intercepts him, landing a right hand fist to demigra's face. It does nothing, which is exactly what you would expect. Demigra counters with a shot to Goku's gut that clearly hurts, then starts blasting him with a series of small ki balls.

Yamcha Gets Treated Like a Real Threat Against Chilled

The action cuts to Chilled, described as Frieza's grand great great great great grandfather, though I lost count of how many greats it actually is, powering up and tapping into dark energy. Vidro and Yamcha team up to try to take him out. I find it genuinely funny that Yamcha gets treated with more respect in Heroes than he does in Dragon Ball Super. During the baseball episode in Super, Yamcha became part of the joke with the dead Yamcha meme, and in the Tournament of Power arc he is reduced to comic relief trying to get onto Team Universe 7. In Heroes he is treated like an actual threat, even though nobody believes he stands a chance against these multiversal level characters.

Vegeta Saves Goku in Super Saiyan Blue Evolution

Goku gets saved by Vegeta in a moment that echoes the old Dragon Ball Z movie formula, though it is not quite the same since Vegeta is not declaring that he will be the one to defeat Kakarot. He just shows up because he wants to fight, arriving in Super Saiyan Blue Evolution, a form that has not shown up in a long time. That form was only ever a Dragon Ball Super anime form, and while the manga has something similar, it is not quite identical. I miss that look, the royal blue with the energy pulsating off of it. It is a great look and a great color for Vegeta.

After seeing Vegeta arrive, Chronoa comes up with a plan and telepathically asks Towa to distract demigra while she works it out.

Future Gohan Saves Future Trunks in the Episode's Best Moment

The story cuts to Trunks getting beaten up by dark factor Cell, a perfect Cell with a lot of power, and then the Androids join in to blast him. That is when Future Gohan, one arm and all, saves Trunks, and for me this was the best moment of the episode. The Trunks TV special that paired the two of them is a lot of fans' favorite Dragon Ball product ever, and I have heard people tell me directly that it is their favorite thing the franchise has ever done. It is dark and not for everyone, but I understand why it resonates, and Future Gohan is a beloved character. Seeing him actually do something here, firing a Masenko to block the blast aimed at Trunks, makes the reunion land.

Future Gohan Apologizes to Future Trunks

What follows is something I think a lot of Dragon Ball fans have genuinely wanted for years: Future Gohan apologizes to Future Trunks. There is no real reason for him to apologize. He took on both Androids, had the courage to fight them, and did the best he could before he was killed, but he says point blank that he is angry at his own weakness because he could not save Trunks, who went on to save the future himself, as shown back in Dragon Ball Z episode 194. It is not a moment I think was necessary for his character, but it mirrors how Gohan felt after failing to finish off Cell in Dragon Ball Z, which led to Goku's death when Goku teleported to King Kai's planet. It is still Gohan, even across different timelines, carrying that same weight of responsibility. Here specifically, he is apologizing because he joined the wrong side when he was supposed to be protecting the other timelines. Most Heroes episodes are weak, but this one moment elevates this episode quite a bit for me.

Trunks and Gohan Power Up Together

Gohan says he has to protect Trunks again with his power, referencing the history of the Trunks special, whether in manga or anime form, and Trunks responds that he will protect Gohan too, and that they should fight together. The music in this scene deserves real credit, it is epic and gives a nice throwback to the Trunks special without feeling forced, even though Heroes as a whole often does feel forced. Trunks and Gohan then power up, with Trunks transforming into Super Saiyan God, and I loved the shot of the two of them standing side by side.

Towa Fights Demigra With a Time-Space Trap

The action returns to Towa versus demigra, where demigra notices that Chronoa is using space time manipulation to try to trap him. I am not certain, but I would presume this is similar to Hit's time cage technique used against Jiren in Dragon Ball Super episode 111. I am not saying it is the exact same move, but it looks pretty close, with Towa presumably more proficient at it than Hit since she is a god. Demigra laughs it off and uses his dark energy to break free before powering up further. Even altering time and space is not enough to hold back these overpowered characters.

Vegito Blue Returns for the Cliffhanger

Just as demigra is about to counterattack, Vegito Blue returns for the first time in a long time and punches him right in the face, Goku and Vegeta fused through Potara earrings and ready to fight. That is where the cliffhanger lands, with the next episode titled The Strongest Versus The Deadliest: Unleashing Power Beyond Limit, setting up Vegito Blue against demigra.

My Verdict on Episode 8

On the scale of Heroes episodes specifically, not the wider Dragon Ball scale, this is one of the better ones. It does not measure up anywhere near Super, and certainly not Dragon Ball Z, but by Heroes standards it was not bad at all, largely because of the Trunks and Gohan moment. It is still not really what I want from Dragon Ball, but the series has been running in Japan for about five years online at this point, so it is probably not ending anytime soon.

Do you think Future Gohan's apology to Future Trunks was a moment the story needed, or was it unnecessary given everything he already sacrificed?